Cover for furniture

ABSTRACT

Cover element for mattresses comprising a rectangular surface of elastic wire material ( 1 ) where a fastening system comprising zipper sides ( 2, 6 ) is arranged around the end edges, such that the cover element may be attached opposite at least one additional cover element with identical fastening system, where the starting points ( 4 ) and ending points ( 5 ) for the glider sides with glider ( 3 ) on the cover element are opposite the corresponding starting points ( 7 ) and end points ( 8 ) for the box sides on the additional cover element and vice versa.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention concerns a cover for furniture such asmattresses.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Beds often consist of two types of mattresses, a main mattressand a top mattress. Additionally, a mattress with a base may also beused.

[0003] The main mattress may be a reversible mattress, which may be usedon both sides. Mattresses of this type may have a different degree ofhardness on each of the two sides. Another type of main mattress is aframe mattress where the mattress is attached to a frame, usually ofwood, which may be fitted with e.g. legs, bows or a base. A framemattress is may only be used on one side.

[0004] The core of the main mattress usually consists of a springsystem, which may have different softness/hardness.

[0005] Between the spring system and the cover, there is usually found alining. The lining may have varying degrees of softness, and is found inseveral materials, such as foamed plastic, synthetic fiber or naturallatex. The lining material contains much air, and is compressed afterrepeated usage. It therefore has a limited lifetime, since it looses itsresilience

[0006] The cover is often made of cotton or viscose or mixtures thereof.A layer of fiber may be sown to the cover, which thereby gets theappearance of a bubbled or quilted cover. Covers for reversiblemattresses consist of two surfaces of elastic web material and an edgepiece, which are sown together. In addition, the cover may have a zipperin the end, which is used when the cover is machine-fitted onto themattress.

[0007] In frame mattresses, the cover consists of one surface of elasticweb material and one edge piece, which are sown together. The cover isfitted over the mattress and often permanently fastened to the frame,e.g. by stapling. There has also appeared on the market a solution wherethe cover is fastened with hook and loop fasteners.

[0008] The top mattress is placed on top of the main mattress. The topmattress may have a simple form of two sown-together surfaces of elasticweb material with fiber, or in addition have a thin mattress between thesurfaces of material, such as e.g. used as lining in the main mattress.

[0009] The cover for a top mattress having a mattress inside, often hasan edge piece and a zipper at the end or along some of the edges, sothat the mattress may be pulled out. The cover of the top mattress oftenhas a quilted quality. The sown-on fiber may for example be of wool onone side and cotton on the other, to provide a reversible top mattressadapted to winter and summer use, respectively.

[0010] The topside of the bed, especially the top mattress, is in closercontact to the body than other parts of the bed. This part of thefurniture should therefore be cleaned regularly and more often than theother parts, or be replaced because of spillage and wear.

[0011] A problem when cleaning the cover of mattresses, and especiallythe top mattress, is disassembly and assembly of the cover itself. Thecover is not always removable, or it may be difficult to remove.Assembly may be especially difficult owing to a small opening forintroducing the mattress, and/or a strong friction between the inside ofthe cover and the outside of the mattress which is to be introduced.

[0012] If the cover is not removable, the whole mattress or top mattressneeds to be changed even if it is only the cover, parts of the cover,the mattress itself or the lining that needs to be changed.

[0013] Another well-known problem is that the covers are too large toplace in ordinary washing machines. Accordingly, industrial washingmachines or dry-cleaning must be used, which makes cleaning moreexpensive and, in practice, results in a less frequent cleaning.

[0014] In the prior art it is known cover elements for mattresses, whichpartly solves the problems listed above. By using zippers along thewhole edge of the mattress as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,055, thecover elements may more easily be removed. By using more than one zipperor zipper sides with starting point in both ends, this cover element mayalso be turned in relation to the other in order to move the worn orcompressed parts of the cover to other positions as described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,414,882

[0015] The problem with these solutions is that the mattress has twodifferent cover elements (over/under- or left/right sides), withdifferently arranged fastening systems. If one element of the cover isto be replaced, the correct cover element must be provided so that itfits the remaining cover element. The dealer must thereby store a stockof both types of cover elements. If the mattress or top mattress inaddition is to have the possibility of different quality or propertieson different sides as mentioned above, the dealer must likewise store astock of each quality for two different types of cover elements, whichis expensive. The alternative is to order the cover element, with thedanger of wrong delivery, or restricting the possibilities forcombination.

[0016] Neither do the above mentioned patents solve the problem ofcleaning the cover elements for double beds. As the cover elementsusually are of quilted quality, they remain too large and voluminous fora household washing machine.

[0017] There is therefore a need for removable covers for mattresses andtop mattresses for both single and double bed(s) consisting of identicalcover elements that may be used interchangeably.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0018] The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems byusing cover elements as claimed in claim 1, viz. a cover element ofelastic wire material equipped with a fastening system consisting of twoor more zipper sides around the edges such that the cover element may becoupled opposite at least one additional cover element, with anidentically arranged fastening system where the starting points andending points for the glider sides are opposite respective startingpoints and ending points of the box sides on the additional coverelement and vice versa. The cover elements are removable and independentof each other, and may be used interchangeably and together.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Examples of embodiments of the invention are shown in thefollowing drawings:

[0020]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first cover element according tothe invention, and two details in larger scale.

[0021]FIG. 2 is a similar view as FIG. 1, of a second cover elementaccording to the invention.

[0022]FIG. 3 is a perspective partial view, which illustrates the use ofthe cover element shown in FIG. 2.

[0023]FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the use of the coverelement shown in FIG. 2.

[0024]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a third cover element according tothe invention.

[0025]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a fourth cover element accordingto the invention.

[0026]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of several cover elements, for use asa cover for a double mattress.

[0027]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a fifth cover element according tothe invention.

[0028]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of four cover elements as shown inFIG. 8, for use as a cover for a double mattress.

[0029]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a fifth cover element accordingto the invention.

[0030] A cover element is shown in FIG. 1, and consists of a surface ofelastic web material 1 with two sown-on zipper sides 2 and 6. The zippersides are two matching pieces of a zipper, i.e. one glider side 2 withglider 3, and one box side 6. The zipper sides are mounted on the sameside of the surface, such that both zipper sides have their startingpoints 4 and 7 in the same end of the surface 1, e.g. the short side,each runs along its side edge of the surface and has an end point 5 and8 in the opposite end of the surface, e.g. opposite short end, as shownin the enlargements in FIG. 1. Matching starting point and end pointthereby lie symmetrically around a center plane perpendicular to thesurface plane. A cover element will have surface dimensions that fit thebed on which it is to be used, e.g. 200 cm×80 cm.

[0031] The cover element may also include an edge piece 9 placed betweenthe end edges of the surface 1 and the zipper sides 2 and 6. The heightof the edge piece must be adapted to the mattress or lining to be used,e.g. 1-5 cm for top mattresses or e.g. 1-20 cm for main mattresses.

[0032] Two identical cover elements may be assembled together as shownin FIG. 3, since the glider side 2 of one cover element fits togetherwith the box side 6 of the other piece and vice-versa, when one coverelement is flipped over along its longitudinal axis. From the top cover,the starting point for the glider side 4 and the glider 3 fit thestarting point of the box side 7 of the zipper on the lower coverelement. Similarly, the starting point of the glider side 4 and theglider 3 of the lower cover element is fits the starting point of thebox side 7 of the zipper on the top cover element. The two zippersthereby connect the two cover elements together to form one cover, andthis may constitute the cover for a top mattress. Between the coverelements there may be placed a thin mattress 10 in order to obtain athicker top mattress, as shown in FIG. 3. Optionally, the cover elementsmay be used alone as a thin top mattress. Then, the cover elements donot need any edge piece, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0033] A cover element may be used as top cover for a main mattress asshown in FIG. 4, with edge piece 11 and basis 12. The main mattress maybe a reversible mattress or a frame mattress, e.g. with bows 13.Optionally, the edge piece of the top cover and of the basis may beequally high, and will in a reversible mattress be identical and maythus be used interchangeably.

[0034] The cover element may also be equipped with a fastening systemconsisting of 4 or 8 zipper sides (i.e. 2 or 4 of each zipper side), asshown in FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively. Optionally, several zipper sidesmay be used with an identical number of glider sides and box sides onone and the same surface side, where the respective starting points 4and 7 and end points 5 and 8 are symmetrical around the center axis ofthe cover element perpendicular to the surface plane. These coverelements fit together, whether they are flipped along the longitudinalaxis or the cross-directional axis. The cover elements of FIGS. 5 and 6may additionally be folded double once along the longitudinal centeraxis and/or once along the cross-directional center axis and be lockedusing the outer zipper sides, since these will be connectable zippersides 2 and 6. This may be done in order to retain a folded and compactform, e.g. for transport, storage and keeping. The cover element in FIG.6 can further be folded once along the longitudinal axis, with the sameresult.

[0035] A cover element for double mattresses may consist of half of anyof the above-described cover elements, for example the one shown in FIG.2, parted along the center longitudinal axis and where there is providedat least one zipper side along the parting edge, as exemplified in FIG.7. The cover element for a double mattress may advantageously bedesigned as shown in FIG. 8, which has an edge piece 9 which only coversthree of the four side edges. Preferably, there is provided one gliderside and one box side with a starting point at midpoint of the length ofthe parting edge and with a stop point in the ends, in order to avoiddiscomfort during use. Four such identical cover elements as shown inFIG. 8 may be assembled as shown in FIG. 9 to form a cover for a doubletop mattress. With high edge pieces 9, these cover elements may form areversible double mattress. The zippers in the center joint may have anoverlapping lip, for example of textile material, in order to avoiddiscomfort and wear of bed linen during use (not shown). The dimensionsof the cover element will typically match the surface dimensions of thebed, e.g. 80 cm×200 cm to fit a 160 cm×200 cm double bed.

[0036]FIG. 10 shows a cover element with fastening system as shown inFIG. 2, where there is additionally provided a fastening system on theother surface side of the surface 1. The cover element constitutes acombined top cover for the main mattress and bottom cover for the topmattress. The cover element can, for example, be used between the coverelements shown in FIG. 4. The cover element may also be used in othercombinations with more than two mattresses on top of each other, suchas, for example, additionally to a bed with a base. The cover elementmay alternatively be equipped with alternative fastening means, asdescribed above or as shown in FIG. 5, 6 and 7. The advantage of thiscover element is that it may lock two mattresses together, and preventsthe two mattresses from shifting in relation to each other while the bedis in use or e.g. during changing of linen. Additionally, the coverprevents the collection of dust and fluff between the mattresses, andreplaces two cover elements, such as e.g. two of the ones shown in FIG.2. The cover may also be fitted to a double bed. This will be one halfof the cover part described above, parted along the longitudinal centeraxis, where there is provided at least one zipper side along the partingedge. The cover element may for example be identical to the one shown inFIG. 8, equipped with an edge piece and zipper sides like the onesexisting on the other surface side, but symmetrically along the centerlatitudinal axis.

[0037] One advantage of the above-described system is that the coverelements are easy to assemble/disassemble with the zippers. It is easyto remove the pieces after opening the zippers, since the pieces may bepulled off each other without any significant friction. For assembly,the pieces are placed on top of each other and locked together using thezippers.

[0038] The accessibility of the bed furniture's parts is improved, andmakes it easy to replace for example the inner mattress and/or lining ineither the top mattress or the main mattress. Over time, the cover willbecome stretched and the mattress will therefore become somewhat softer,which may be corrected by adding more lining. Optionally, the springsystem or parts thereof in different zones may be replaced in order tochange the softness of the main mattress. Parts of the mattress maytherefore be replaced or improved and adjusted to conform to changes inthe user, such as e.g. weight, height or preferences, without replacingthe whole mattress. The system makes it easy to equip the mattress withe.g. heating elements under the whole of, or parts of, the cover.

[0039] The cover elements are also easily handled due to their smallsize, low weight and good foldability. This allows is the pieces to bewashed in a conventional washing machine.

[0040] The rest of the mattress may be left in the bed piece afterremoval of a cover element. When cleaning a cover element, it may takesome time to dry it. One may therefore have one cover element extra,such that the bed is complete in the meantime. Since the fasteningsystem is identical, one cover will fit a reversible mattress, a framemattress or any side of a top mattress. This is an advantage in ahousehold where, for example, all the covers may be used interchangeablyduring cleaning or if there is a need for replacement. Thereby, thereare plenty of temporary solutions in case a cover cannot be used.

[0041] When replacing a cover, it will be of great advantage both forthe supplier and the consumer that it is only necessary to have one typeof cover in stock, i.e. no right/left or top/bottom side. There is thusno risk of delivering a wrong cover element that does not fit. This willadditionally give a greater clarity concerning stocks, reduce thenecessary storage capacity and enhance the availability.

[0042] The cover in itself may be produced in different qualities andmaterials. The fiber material with which the cover is lined may havedifferent properties, as described above. A top mattress consisting oftwo cover parts may thereby have different properties on the two sides.A double top mattress may additionally have different properties onneighboring sides.

1. Cover element for mattresses, which cover element comprises arectangular surface of elastic wire material (1), characterized in thatthere is provided a fastening system consisting of at least one gliderside (2) and at least one box side (6) of a zipper around the end edges,such that the cover element may be connected opposite at least oneadditional cover element with identically arranged fastening system,where the starting points (4) and the end points (5) for the glider sideon the cover element are opposite the respective starting points (7) andend points (8) for the box sides on the additional cover element andvice versa.
 2. Cover element according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe fastening system consists of one glider side (2) and one box side(6) arranged on the same surface side of the cover element with matchingstarting point (4 and 7) and stop point (5 and 8) symmetrically around acenter plane perpendicular to the surface plane.
 3. Cover elementaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the fastening systemconsists of two or more glider sides (2) and an equal number of boxsides (6) arranged on the same surface side with matching starting point(4 and 7) and stop point (5 and 8) symmetrically around the center axisof the cover, perpendicular to the surface plane.
 4. Cover elementaccording to any preceding claim, characterized in that the coverelement consists of an end piece (9) arranged between the end edges ofthe surface (1) and the zipper sides (2, 6).
 5. Cover element accordingto claim 1-4, characterized in that there additionally is arranged acorresponding fastening system on the other surface side of therectangular surface.
 6. Cover element, characterized in that itcomprises one half of a cover element according to any of the previousclaims parted along the center longitudinal axis, and where there isarranged a glider side or a box side along the parting edge,alternatively a glider side and a box side where the starting points (4and 7) preferably are arranged at midpoint of the length of the end edgeand with the stop points at the ends of the length of the end edge. 7.Cover, characterized in that it consists of two identical cover elementsaccording to any of the claims
 14. 8. Cover, characterized in that itconsists of four identical cover elements according to claim
 6. 9. Framemattress, characterized in that it is equipped with one cover elementaccording to claims 1-5, where the base of the frame mattress isequipped with an identical fastening system.
 10. Frame mattress,characterized in that it is equipped with two cover elements accordingto claim 6, where the base of the frame mattress is equipped with acorresponding fastening system.